Deborah Holland

Wendy Waldman

Cindy Bullens

Artist profile by Bob McKillop

Deborah Holland, Wendy Waldman, and Cindy Bullens are The Refugees.   From what, exactly, are they fleeing?  From what persecution do they seek shelter?

Is it the persecution of expectations regarding their individual musical styles?  Do they find sanctuary in their creative friendship, a respite from the restrictions that the long trail of their own careers has placed upon their muse?

Or are they just havin’ a ball?

After all, this is a trio of musical hyper-achievers.  It’s hard work being super-talented, and who could blame them for taking some time for a refreshing change of musical scenery. 

Cindy Bullens has all the credentials she’ll ever need:  two Grammy nominations, tours and recordings with Sir Elton John, and a streak of high-performance record releases and songwriting covers that has put her consistently in the spotlight.

Deborah Holland has been successfully writing, recording, and performing songs since she caught the bug in her teenage years, with four highly acclaimed albums and regular tours and performances around the country and abroad.  She is also a full-time music professor at California State University at Los Angeles, and she scores soundtracks for television and film.

Wendy Waldman is much in demand as a platinum-selling songwriter, performer, and pioneering record producer.  Scores of artists have covered her work, in pop, R&B, jazz, country and Latin styles.   Her hits include “Save The Best for Last” and “The Sweetest Days” by Vanessa Williams and “I’m Gone” by Alison Krauss.

When they perform together, the stunning musicianship, heart-stopping vocal harmonies, and drop-dead songwriting combine with a synergy that is fired by their hot-ticket, hair trigger verbal sparring and their high-energy arrangements.  In their current shows, they perform compositions from all of their catalogs, but done in a way that is very different from their solo takes on the songs.

“The three of us could not be more different in terms of our personality and approach to songwriting,” says Bullens.   “I’m a rock and roller - if you had told me fifteen years ago that today, I’d be performing folk and acoustic-oriented music in an all-female trio, I’d have said that you were crazy.  But we are finding that we blend well together musically, and we write well together.  On stage, with our different personalities, it’s like a theater piece, but it’s not scripted.  The sum ends up being greater than the parts.”

Bullens also enjoys the musical challenge that comes with working in this group.  Each of these artists is stretching themselves in some way, picking up new techniques and playing instruments that they don’t typically play.  The three women are also getting a charge out of writing songs together.  They have two new songs on their upcoming collaborative album that were co-written between them, and Bullens says they plan on writing tons more together in the future.  “Sometimes we write from scratch, but other times, one of us will bring an idea to the others, and we’ll work with that” she says.  “The quality is amazing – each of us is an accomplished songwriter and we all have high standards for these songs.”

I caught The Refugees in a short set at The North East Regional Folk Alliance conference late last year.  What struck me most about their performance was the fact that it was musically near perfect and very tight and well performed, but it looked as though these women were having more fun than anyone in the room.  The harmonies were inspired; three very different vocal timbres, but united in a way that sounded as though they came from the same entity.  Lot’s of verbal interaction, and a fun stage presence.

Bullens told me that the logistical challenges for the trio are considerable, since she lives here in Maine and Holland and Waldman live in California.  There are children and families to consider, full-time jobs, and solo careers to keep on track.  But she says they are all committed to making it work, because it’s worth it.  “It’s so exciting and rewarding to work with these women – they are so talented!”

The Refugees new album is due to release late in the summer.  They are appearing at One Longfellow Square on Wednesday, April 16, at 8:00 PM – Don’t miss ‘em!